“Chicks That Kick”…Ass

If you’re a girly girl, you would probably think girls in martial arts are tomboys.

If you’re a smartypants girl, you probably think girls in martial arts are wasting their time

If you’re Miss Paranoia, you probably think you’ll die doing martial arts

…think or call it however you want, chicks who kick…can beat your ass any day 😛

Ok Ok… now martial arts ain’t about promoting violence. Other than the discipline training you benefit from, did you know there are FANTASTIC benefits for your fitness and mind’s well-being?

Also if you live where I’m from, Malaysia, knowing how to defend yourself against petty cowardly robbers, snatchers, rapists…will be superbly handy!

Girls in our society need so much more exposure to understanding martial arts as self defense.

I remember how our reality slapped me in the face….I was helping out my coach, teaching a self defense with muay thai technique class at a university. Once it came time for the girls to practice their rape defense techniques, girls ended up squealing and giggling uncomfortably everywhere. they were too SHY(??) to practice protecting themselves?? (  -____-‘ ‘)

Well, no matter what your age is, understanding the reality of our society is crucial for our survival…especially for women.

An interesting piece to share on martial arts. I personally enjoy Muay Thai, so that’s what the article would be about 😀

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(Extracted from CBCnews)

Muay Thai

More and more women are signing up for what’s called the most lethal martial art in the world

By Vawn Himmelsbach

To the untrained eye, a Muay Thai fight — or Thai boxing — looks like a brutal martial art where opponents pummel each other with jabs, kicks, elbows and knees. So why are so many women signing up for classes?

What’s often referred to as the most lethal martial art in the world has, until recently, predominately been practised by men. In Thailand, where Muay Thai has its roots, it’s still considered bad luck to have a woman in the ring, so female fighters train in a separate ring from the men (if at all).

But outside Thailand, it’s a different story — around the world more women are slugging it out alongside the guys in Muay Thai classes.

Some of them are also choosing to get in the ring and compete. A reality TV show on Oprah’s Oxygen network, called Fight Girls, showcases women who train with Master Toddy in Las Vegas and then compete for a title in Thailand.

Health benefits

But not everyone has designs on a title.

For many women, it’s about health and wellness, and an appreciation for the skill and strategy behind Muay Thai — which is designed for the smaller, weaker opponent to use their “limitations” as strengths.

While Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand, the fighting style is common to that region of Southeast Asia — the Burmese, for example, call it Bando.

American kickboxing, a derivative of Muay Thai, was originally called full-contact karate and became popular in the 1970s. Kickboxing eliminated some of the traditional “weapons” of Muay Thai — all kicks and strikes must be above the waist, and no elbows, knees or clinches are allowed. Low-kick (a European version of kickboxing) has the same rules as American kickboxing, except you’re allowed to kick to the leg and sweep.

Modified Muay Thai includes use of the knees and the clinch, while full Muay Thai also includes use of the elbows.

Sarah Thompson was walking down a Toronto street when she saw a sign advertising Muay Thai classes at Totum Life Science. After taking kickboxing classes during university — and losing 50 pounds — she thought Muay Thai would be a piece of cake.

“I was wrong, I was so wrong,” she said. “The next day I was robot girl.”

After she got over the stiffness of overtaxed muscles, she signed up and now trains with pro fighter Clifton Brown. “I’m not interested in being big and bulky, but I want to make sure I can do 60 pushups like the guy beside me.”

When she first joined, there weren’t many women around, but that’s changing. This could be because the perception and acceptance of women as fighters is also changing, she said, particularly in pop culture where female leads like Uma Thurman kick butt in the movies.

“I was a chubby kid when I was 18 and I never thought I’d do any of this stuff at all,” she said.

Muay Thai has improved Thompson’s flexibility and reflexes, but it also clears her head. While training, she says the only thing on her mind is whether she’s throwing her jab or kick properly. “You have to be there, you have to be in the moment.”

Chicks That Kick

Thompson became one of the founding members of Chicks That Kick (CTK), an all-female Muay Thai collective with a goal of bringing more women into the sport (the members are from gyms across Ontario).

So far CTK has hosted two all-female fight nights, with the proceeds going to charity.

“When you’re a 13-year-old girl, nobody says, ‘You can do this,’” Thompson said. “We need to be able to tell girls to go and take a martial arts class.”

Like many women, Melissa Misiuda didn’t get into martial arts until she was in university. At first, it was all about physical fitness. Then her coach at TKO Fighting Arts in Kitchener persuaded her to train for a fight.

Her first reaction was not to do it — she didn’t want to get hit. But eventually she decided to give it a try. The girl she was competing against gave up after the first round in the ring. “That was it, I was hooked.”

Misiuda moved to Toronto, started training at the Siam #1 facility under Ajahn Suchart, and went on to win a North American middleweight title from the United States Kickboxing Association, a Canadian middleweight title from the Canadian Muay Thai Association, and a gold medal for low-kick at the World Kickboxing Association Worlds.

In November, she heads to Thailand as part of Team Canada to compete in a 10-day Muay Thai competition (a trip she’ll pay for out of her own pocket).

The sport is more about physical well-being than about weight loss, she said. “It’s not about starving yourself, it’s not about becoming ripped,” she said. “It’s about becoming healthy, more happy with yourself, with your body.”

If you starve yourself, for example, you won’t have the energy or stamina to get through a class, and you’ll end up getting hurt or sick.

“If you eat a lot of garbage, a lot of processed foods, then you’re going to feel it,” she adds.

To date, Misiuda’s fight record is 14-1-1. Her single loss occurred, she said, because she dropped too much weight for a fight. “I’m six-feet-tall, I went down to 149 pounds and I couldn’t think anymore. I didn’t get hurt, but I didn’t have the energy to do much of anything.”

The sport’s appeal

Weight loss often drives women into martial arts initially, but they get hooked on it for different reasons.

Theodora Pistiolis got into kickboxing nine years ago as a way to lose weight. But after two years, she wanted to take it to the next level, so she tried a Muay Thai class at Tiger Gym under Kru Ed Advincula.

“I wanted to see what it was like to actually spar, and once I started sparring, that was it,” she said.

Pistiolis has seen an increasing number of women enter the sport in recent months. Boxercise and kickboxing classes are now available at almost every gym, and at some point women might want to take it to the next level, she said, even if they’re not going to compete.

“Since I started, it amazes me how many more schools are around now,” she said, “so it’s not as intimidating to go in and train.”

When the Canadian Amateur Muay Thai Association of Ontario (CAMTAO) started sanctioning fights, Pistiolis fought the first sanctioned fight, the first female fight and the first bout, earning a technical knockout in the first round. She now has 10 fights under her belt and is the provincial CAMTAO flyweight champion. She backed out of her last scheduled fight when she found out she was pregnant.

Having spent the past two years in fighter training — which means training two to three hours a day, four to six days a week — she’s found it difficult to slow down. While Pistiolis can’t spar during her pregnancy, she’s still skipping and doing pad work.

“I talked to so many doctors and got the okay from everybody,” she said.

While she’s noticed the benefits of a healthy lifestyle over the years, she believes her pregnancy will be the test. So far she’s kept up her energy, but Pistiolis will have to wait until February to find out if her labour will be any easier or if she’ll bounce back more quickly thanks to her years of Muay Thai.

Risks

Like any sport, there is a risk of injury, but part of the technique involves learning how to execute strikes without getting injured. “With your technique and skill comes your power and strength,” said Misiuda.

Pistiolis once broke her toe. Sophia Ramirez, another founding member of Chicks That Kick, broke her foot while training on her own — she did a swing kick and landed on the side of her foot. This hasn’t deterred her, though.

Ramirez actively sought out a martial arts class when she was going through a tough time and needed an outlet. The first Muay Thai gym she tried out wasn’t welcoming and she was the only woman in the class. She transferred to another gym and has been training ever since.

What appeals to many women is that they don’t necessarily have to be the bigger, stronger person to win a fight — it’s all about skill and strategy. “You can train your body but your mind is your strongest weapon, and you really have to train that,” Ramirez said.

You can be the strongest person in the ring, she added, but it won’t help if you’re not focused.

“It takes a lot of time, but it changes your confidence, it changes the way you walk and the way you approach things,” she said. “You’re grounded.”

When she got into Muay Thai, her mom tried to talk her out of it, since she didn’t understand what it was all about. “I would go home and I’d have bruises everywhere,” she said. “She thought I was insane. She thought I was doing this to hurt myself, but this is about health and wellness.”

After the first Chicks That Kick event two years ago, where Ramirez decided to fight for the first time to raise money for The Hospital for Sick Children, that all changed. Her mom was there, cheering her on in the front row.

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Women in martial arts are more common than you thought, of all races and cultures.

Are you an infomercial “victim”?

Infomercials promoting weight loss with the minimal info given and then having models with washboard abs telling you they got results via…3mins a day…??

Sounds too good to be true?

Well, IT IS!

It drives me up the wall and sends shivers down my spine everytime I hear about people buying these equipment based only on the info they heard on the infomercial. Whatever happened to consumer-Common-Sense?

Way to go Bill, on his appearance and input in the following video. Bill (or William) Sukala is a clinical exercise physiologist and was presenting at AFFEX 2009 in Hong Kong when I met him – that was when he adopted the name “Salsa Bill” too (Go figure :-P)

For the peeps in Twitterville, you may follow him on Twitter too. @WilliamSukala

NOW…are YOU an infomercial victim? or do you know anyone who is?

http://tvnz.co.nz//close-up/does-latest-fitness-craze-measure-up-3962438/video?vid=3962447

FULL ARTICLE BY WILLIAM SUKALA HERE: http://www.williamsukala.com/ab-circle-pro-review-fat-marketing-claims-thin-on-truth.html

Common Injuries:Pole & Aerial Athletes

From: Sports Injury Clinic.net

What is Impingement Syndrome?

Impingement Syndrome, which is sometimes called Swimmer’s shoulder or Thrower’s shoulder, is caused by the tendons of the rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis muscles) becoming ‘impinged’ as they pass through a narrow bony space called the Subacromial space – so called because it is under the arch of the acromion. With repetitive pinching, the tendon(s) become irritated and inflamed.

This can lead to thickening of the tendon which may cause further problems because there is very little free space, so as the tendons become larger, they are impinged further by the structures of the shoulder joint and the muscles themselves.

Impingement Syndrome in itself is not a diagnosis, it is a clinical sign.  There are at least NINE different diagnoses which can cause impingement syndrome. These include:

If left untreated, shoulder impingements can result in a rotator cuff tear.

Impingement Syndrome can be classified as External or Internal:

1. External impingement, which can be either primary or secondary:

Primary

  • Is usually due to bony abnormalities in the shape of the acromial arch.
  • Can sometimes be due to congenital abnormalities (known as os acromial), or due to degenerative changes, where small spurs of bone grow out from the arch with age, and impinge on the tendons.

Secondary

  • Usually due to poor scapular (shoulder blade) stabilisation which alters the physical position of the acromion, hence causing impingement on the tendons.
  • Is often due to weak serratus anterior and tight pectoralis minor muscles
  • Other causes can include weakening of the rotator cuff tendons due to overuse (e.g. throwing and swimming) or muscular imbalance with the deltoid muscle and rotator cuff muscles.  

2. Internal impingement

  •  
    •  
      • Occurs predominantly in athletes where throwing is the main part of the sport (e.g. pitches in baseball)
      • The under side of the rotator cuff tendons are impinged against the glenoid labrum – this tends to cause pain at the back of the shoulder joint as well as sometimes at the front.

Symptoms of impingement syndrome:

  • Shoulder pain comes on gradually over a long period.
  • Pain at the front and/or side of the shoulder joint with overhead activity such as throwing, front crawl swimming – most common in external impingements.
  • Pain at the back and/or front of the shoulder when the arm is held out to the side (abducted) and turned outwards (external rotation) – most common in internal impingements.
  • Pain when lifting the arm above 90 degrees.
  • Pain on internal (medial rotation) movements – for example reaching up behind your back.
  • Positive shoulder impingement tests.

Treatment of impingement syndrome

What can the athlete do?

  • Rest
  • Apply ice or cold therapy to the painful area for 10-15 minutes per 2 hour period.  Remember to use an ice bag or a towel wrapped around the ice to protect against ice burn. 
  • Seek advice from a sports injury professional who can develop an appropriate rehabilitation programme
  • Return to sport gradually once the pain has eased

What can the sports injury professional or doctor do?

  • Carry out specific tests and/or order X-Rays to determine what is causing the impingement
  • Prescribe anti-inflammatory medication such as Ibuprofen or other NSAID’s (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs).
  • Advise on rehabilitation programme’s to improve function and decrease pain.
  • Discuss the option of directly injected steroids into the subacromial space to reduce inflammation and reduce inflammation in the local area (this is not usually an early option).
  • Discuss the option of surgery in cases which have failed conservative rehabilitation efforts – this is usually after a period of at least 6-12 months.

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TRX Goodness in Australia

Every event conducted by Fitness Anywhere Inc for TRX out here in Asia Pacific so far have been great experiences.  How often do you get so many individuals who are uniquely talented in their field with enormous amount of experience and inspiring life stories…all in one room for daysssss in a row?  As for myself, I still can’t believe sometimes how truly fortunate I am to be given the opportunities in attending these exclusive events. Though I love being a teacher in what I do, it is always refreshing to be a student, learning from inspiring teachers like Fraser Quelch…the experience and what you take home is always motivating – and that keeps me going.

Here are some pictures from the most recent and first Train The Trainer events held in Australia:

The events were held at Acumotum, also known as PTA Global gym/office

 

TRX GSTC TTT Team

 

The only time where you sit - Learning

 

Stretch series on the Suspension Trainer
Fellow classmates Linzi (The Philippines) & Adrian (Hong Kong)
Fellow teammate Dave (Malaysia)
TRX – STC Train The Trainer – Melbourne 2011

 

 

Links YOU should check out:

www.fitnessanywhere.com

www.acumotum.com

www.ptaglobal.com.au

More Breaks from Sitting Are Good for Waistlines and Hearts

ScienceDaily (Jan. 13, 2011) — It is becoming well accepted that, as well as too little exercise, too much sitting is bad for people’s health. Now a new study has found that it is not just the length of time people spend sitting down that can make a difference, but also the number of breaks that they take while sitting at their desk or on their sofa. Plenty of breaks, even if they are as little as one minute, seem to be good for people’s hearts and their waistlines.

The study, which is published online on January 12 in the European Heart Journal, is the first in a large, representative, multi-ethnic population to look at the links of the total amount of time spent sitting down and breaks in sedentary time, with various indicators of risk for heart disease, metabolic diseases such as diabetes, and inflammatory processes that can play a role in atherosclerosis (blocked arteries).

It found that prolonged periods of sedentary time, even in people who also spent some time in moderate-to-vigorous exercise, were associated with worse indicators of cardio-metabolic function and inflammation, such as larger waist circumferences, lower levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, higher levels of C-reactive protein (an important marker of inflammation) and triglycerides (blood fats).

However, the study also found that, even in people who spent a long time sitting down, the more breaks they took during this time, the smaller their waists and the lower the levels of C-reactive protein.

There were some racial and ethnic differences. The most significant was that longer sedentary time had a marked adverse effect on waist circumference for non-Hispanic whites only, but made no difference to Mexican Americans and appeared to be beneficial for non-Hispanic blacks.

Dr Genevieve Healy, a research fellow at the School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Australia, who led the study, said: “Overall, for length of sedentary time, the most clinically significant findings were for blood fats and markers of insulin resistance. For the number of breaks in sedentary time, the most significant differences were observed for waist circumference. The top 25% of people who took the most breaks had, on average, a 4.1cm smaller waist circumference than those in the lowest 25%.”

Dr Healy and her colleagues analysed data from 4,757 people aged 20 and over, who took part in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2006. The participants wore a small device called an accelerometer, which monitored the amount and intensity of walking or running activity. It was worn on the right hip during waking hours for seven days and it gave researchers information on sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time. Measurements were taken of waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and C-reactive protein concentrations, and they also measured levels of triglycerides, plasma glucose and insulin in a sub-sample of participants who were fasting when attending a morning examination. The researchers accounted statistically for socio-demographic differences between study participants, their medical histories and their lifestyles (smoking, alcohol intake, diet).

The least amount of sedentary time was 1.8 hours per day, the most 21.2 hours per day; the least number of breaks over the full seven days was 99, and the most was 1,258.

Dr Healy said: “The benefits of regular participation in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise are well accepted scientifically and by the general public. However, the potential adverse health impact of prolonged sitting (which is something that we do on average for more than half of our day), is only just being realised. Our research highlights the importance of considering prolonged sedentary time as a distinct health risk behaviour that warrants explicit advice in future public health guidelines. In particular, the findings are likely to have implications for settings where prolonged sitting is widespread, such as in offices.

“Our research showed that even small changes, which could be as little as standing up for one minute, might help to lower this health risk. It is likely that regular breaks in prolonged sitting time could be readily incorporated into the working environment without any detrimental impact on productivity, although this still needs to be determined by further research. ‘Stand up, move more, more often’ could be used as a slogan to get this message across.”

She said that existing occupational health and safety guidelines recommend regular changes in posture and a variety of work tasks, and that these would help to incorporate more breaks from sitting in the working day, and might lead to less sedentary time overall. Practical tips that might help to do this in an office-based workplace included:

  • Standing up to take phone calls
  • Walking to see a colleague rather than phoning or emailing
  • Having standing meetings or encouraging regular breaks during meetings for people to stand up
  • Going to a bathroom on a different level
  • Centralising things such as rubbish bins and printers so that you need to walk to them
  • Taking the stairs instead of the lift where possible.

Dr Healy said that the size of the differences in the various cardio-metabolic and inflammatory risk biomarkers between the top and bottom 25% of people in terms of their sedentary time was large enough to suggest that “in theory, population-wide reductions in sedentary time of between one to two hours a day could have a substantial impact on the prevention of cardiovascular disease.”

She concluded: “Prolonged sedentary time is likely to increase with future technological and social innovations, and it is important to avoid prolonged periods of sitting and to move more throughout the day. Reducing and regularly breaking up sedentary time may be an important adjunct health message, alongside the well-established recommendation for regular participation in exercise. While further evidence of a causal nature is required, less sitting time would be unlikely to do harm. It would, at the very least, contribute to increased overall levels of daily energy expenditure and could help to prevent weight gain.”

The study was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council/National Heart Foundation of Australia postdoctoral fellowship to Dr Healy; a Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Public Health Research Fellowship to David Dunstan; and a Queensland Health Core Research Infrastructure grant and NHMRC Program Grant funding to Elisabeth Winkler and Neville Owen.